NY Times columnist Carl Richards provides another thought-provoking activity to make budgeting more interesting (well actually he got this idea from a friend).  Record all your spending in a given month and then ask yourself three questions for each expense:

1. Does this expense align with our values?

2. What value does it align with?

3. Is there a substitute that might cost less?

His final suggestion:  If you answer “yes” to question #3 then take the savings and SAVE IT rather than spending it.  You will have to be the judge of whether your students would benefit from this activity…I am going to give it a shot this month and see how much I can save!

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.